Ice Cream Sandwich now on 7.1 percent of all Android smartphones

Over the past little while we've started to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich make its way to quite a few devices and now Google has updated their latest Android platform version statistics to give us all a better look at the rate of adoption across the board. Gingerbread is still the run away leader here with a total of 65 percent but Ice Cream Sandwich has now reached 7.1 percent of Android smartphones out there. For some perspective, that's up from the 2.9 percent reported in April.

Last weekend I saw an add for a Android tablet for $99. Don't know the brand since it was Ollies selling it. Lol. those are the tablets and smart phones that give android a bad name. Oh but it did say it was on 2.2

But i think that the number is taken from a diferent perspective. There less than 7% of phones with ICS. This post includes tablets. I have an old 3gs as a backup phone with 5.1 and my wifes incredible is still on froyo. My droid 2 does have gingerbread but i imagine there is no more future there. Bunching tablets with phones doesnt paint the picture everyone is imagining.

Yeah - 1% OF ALL Android users actually care about version number - so it's not too surprising to see this much variation. Public interest = get shit done....no public interest = "can I get you some sprinkles for your frozen yogurt sir?"

This is all par for the course so to speak with Operating System software. Reminds me of Windows in the computer world where many, many people (including me) are still happily using Windows XP, in many cases even on newer hardware, either because of personal preference (for me Windows 7 is a death by a thousands cuts) or due to compatibility issues like we have at work (large enterprise). It's just going to take time for the majority to cycle into newer OS versions, mostly via new hardware, whereas a minority via software updates on existing devices that can support it. It's just the nature of the beast. :)

iOS users would say your your theory doesn't hold water. And this is probably the biggest issue for Andorid users. Apple is great at pushing out updates to it phones so it makes the rest of the industry look bad and lazy.

It's not a theory, there's a lot of fact to what I said. Also, not every IOS user is running the latest software version as you can be sure many ignore the update notice (a family member does this) any time they connect to iTunes.

It is over 70% that have iOS 5 or higher. As other pointed out, you no longer have to connect to iTunes to get the updated. I think ICS and iOS 5 were announced about the same time. So we have 70% of iOS updated and 7% of Android updated.

But thats not a problem really, Phones are not like PC at all, user can't just change system on phone if they like as on PC. Most of people are simply stuck with GB and they can't just update it to ICS without any hacks. It's not like users what really like GB (XP) and don't want to change to ICS (7).... they don't have any other choose. Hardware is not a problem, just look on CynamogenMod, they not even strugleing with hardware preformence but more getting drivers (mostly unoffical) to work, and drivers really dont need much evolution, linux got very old drivers inside still working not much touched and they still work. Accessibility is major problem here not user don't care about system version.

As long as you inform user on from of there face that there a update (and OTA should have that role) or you do that automatically, they will update it. Just look on browser charts and compere IE migration with rest of the browsers:

You want to know why IE migration is so sluggish? IE does not only not updating automatically, it's not even informing you about update, just look on IE8-IE6 that are on XP! And even Apple do better job then them.

And even with OTA phones don't evolve, not because user don't want to like with Windows, because manufacture don't release updates.

Not to mentioned Android changes are not so dramatic as each windows version, we talking here about system that works 75% on Java APIs ;p It's very hard to break old Android app due update, since most even API Level 1 functions are still in service untouched, just look on SDK documentation, where Windows update tend to break app.

This is proof that there are just too many android phones. The manufacturers have shot themselves in the foot trying to come out with a new phone every 45 minutes, because now they have to update roms for all of them.

and I give you the Galaxy S 1 - which was a hot seller and in the United States carriers chose not to roll past froyo. Not that it wasn't a capable device, it was a conscious decision in place to sell Nexus S and Galaxy S 2 devices - I have Android 4.0.4 running on my wife's Tmobile Vibrant right now and it certainly improves every single aspect of the device (especially the bogus "out of the box" GPS issues)

I was more concerned to see those 6.1% on less than Froyo and 2.7 on HC (all HC tablets should be ICS upgradeable)

That's 8.8% of Android that is basically not even received all of the updates that should be "simple" to do.

Before 2.3 (which 2.2 is), you could basically pull the AOSP and compile it. At 2.3 and later, it required drivers and whatnot to deal with graphics hardware. However, HC tablets are all basically the same. Moving from HC to ICS should be insanely easy.

I can understand GB/Froyo being the EOL OS for Android, because moving to GB/ICS requires a significant backend commitment. However, It is nuts to see tons of brand new devices still on older OS. Hopefully the rumors are true and Google is opening up more of their development of Android to OEMs so updates can happen faster.